By Joy Obakeye
Google’s new private subsea cable, Equiano, will reduce Nigeria’s internet retail price by 21 percent, the company said in a statement.
The Equiano subsea internet cable landed in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday.
The Internet cable, named after Olaudah Equiano, a Nigerian-born writer and historical abolitionist, has a capacity of 144 terabits (18 Terabytes).
The Equiano cable which landed in Lomé, Togo last month, starts from Portugal in western Europe, and run more than 12,000km along the West Coast of Africa.
“Google is committed to supporting Africa’s digital transformation and we are excited to see the impact of the landing of Equiano in Nigeria. We’ve worked with established partners and in-country experts to guarantee that Equiano has the greatest potential effect in Nigeria and throughout Africa.” Juliet Ehimuan, Director, West Africa at Google noted in the statement.
The statement added that the high-capacity Equiano cable, which will become operational later this year is expected to Increase internet penetration by 6 percent, increase internet speed six times, boost Nigeria’s GDP by 10 billion dollars by 2025, boost job creation by 1.6 million and save about 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.
Ehimuan added that “Equiano is set to make an enduring contribution towards the development of Nigeria’s communications infrastructure and today marks another major step in its development. We look forward to honouring our commitment to be part of Africa’s digital transformation.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, has said that the Federal Government would provide an enabling environment that encourages foreign and local investments in the country.
Pantami added that the federal government, through the ministry, will drive the implementation of existing digital economy-oriented policies put in place by the current administration.
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